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light penetrated through the window, shining over the musky yet well-kept room and onto tusk's gently shut eyelids. the bed frame creaked as he shifted a little at the soft light. the green chairs were unoccupied, the rustic table empty. no clattering from the other room, no back-and-forth bickering. only the bright green leaves on the overgrown trees fluttered in the wind outside; everything else was still.
tusk let out a little groan while rubbing his numb fingers over his tired eyes. he twisted his head, eyes squeezed tight as he nestled into the nearest pillow to avoid the intense light.
‘unusally warm,’ he thought, leaning into the cushion a little more, ‘though very hard.’
he laid there for a second, comfortable. more so then he's ever been since they've arrived on earth. almost like he was back at home, curled up in the small chair next to his father's, golden rays slipping through the curtains and onto the pages of his book.
nothing could ruin this feeling.
‘i need to pee.’ the thought came before the realization, but suddenly, it was all he could think about. he let out another groan, this time heavy and full of dread. he hasn't felt so his much comfort in a while. perhaps it was the temperature, the new mattress yamato bought, or the shoulder he was just leaning against-
he jumped, staring at what was now obviously a shoulder. and connecting to that shoulder was leo's face.
tusk would of slapped him if he didn't look so peaceful. he donned a charismatic smile, even when he was fast asleep. one of his arms was propped up against the wall, while the other was tucked under his head. his unruly mane swamped over the rest of the pillows, but he seemed unbothered. his sleeveless yellow shirt rode up a little, exposing his midriff - tusk pulled it back down - and he wore dark blue basketball shorts (courtesy of yamato) that went down to his knees. leo's legs wrapped around his, bare calves entangled amidst his gray sweatpants.
"god, he's gonna get it when he wakes up," tusk muttered to himself, his voice still croaking with fatigue. he twisted his body, hoping to slip from leo's surprisingly iron grip on his legs.
and he jumped again, letting an audible squeak out this time. because to his left was amu, snoozing ever so peacefully right next to him.
every feature on her face was soft; her eyelids fluttered over her eyes, the corners of her lips curled up ever so slightly. but on the other hand, strands of her bangs were sticking out in every direction, and the back of her hair was tousled like a bird had flew in and started to build a nest on her head. she was drowning in a thin, white tshirt, while a pair of black workout shorts (courtesy of,,,yamato?) draped loosely over her hip. a gentle arm was tucked underneath his neck, and the other slung over his chest, both so light that they've gone unnoticed until then. eighty percent of the blanket was wrapped around her leg, and the other hung over the side of the bed ever so slightly.
‘what the hell happened to the other beds?‘ he wondered, bewilderedly looking back and forth between the two felines that somehow sidled onto his bed uninvited. and on top of all of that, his bladder was really pressuring him to get to the toilet, and fast.
tusk let out a sigh, propping himself up by his elbow. amu's arm slid from his chest to his stomach, and he winced as she stirred. after a few seconds of holding his breath, he declared himself safe, though he didn't dare remove her arm, so he went to work hacking at the jungle of legs. honestly, he wasn't even sure how leo managed to do this in his sleep, and without waking him up in the process.
‘god, it's like he was knitting a sweater out of legs,’ tusk thought dejectedly, smothering his face into his free hand.
still, he made progress, managing to wiggle out what he was pretty sure was his right foot. but his bladder was getting extremely inpatient, and he knew he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.
no, he wouldn't pee the bed, of course not. he would just have to swallow his pride, wake leo up to free him from his trap, wake up amu to let him down from the bed, and then relieve himself while they climbed out of his bed.
he flung himself back onto the bed, right in between the two of them, right where he started. that idea didn't appeal to him too much.
"dude, just ask us to wake up, it isn't that hard." the raspy voice broke through the silence, causing tusk to jolt for the third time. he looked over to leo, who didn't move an inch, but a half smug, half amused grin replaced the soft smile on his face.
"you...you were awake," he uttered, frozen in place as he stared.
"of course, you're quite heavy-footed," another soft voice retorted. tusk whipped his neck in the other direction, almost breaking it in the process. amu's round eyes peered back at him, and a tired smile bloomed across her face.
"you too."
"you're calling me clumsy when you were making all that sound?" she teased, lifting her eyebrows.
"yes- wait, no, not the heavy foot thing, the being secretly awake thing." he fumbled with his words, with no help from his fatigue and his intense shock.
"oh yeah, you were cute trying to be so careful so we kept quiet," she replied, her eyes rounding into crescents. he felt leo's head nod against his shoulder.
"you...watched." a pause. then tusk slapped his hands over his face, letting out a tiny groan as he turned his face back up to the ceiling.
"don't worry, we know you can't be as graceful as us." leo assured. a nod from amu.
"no, not- uh, never mind. why are you both here?" tusk asked, his voice still muffled from his hands.
silence. he heard a shuffle from leo's side, then a tiny squeak escaped from amu, and then the jingle of leo's bracelet. this barrage of sounds continued until leo cleared his throat, and his side of the mattress dipped a little as he turned away from tusk. his legs also untangled from his, somehow seamlessly slipping out.
"i guess i'm telling you then. so you see, amu missed-" a hollow slap sounded from leo's back. "ow, fine! amu and i both...we miss home. and we needed comfort, and, i don't know, maybe you do too!"
tusk's breath hitched. he had been thinking a lot about home. about the tiny hut that his father made when he was born, and the bookshelves rich with stories. about the long patrols with sela and leo and amu, and how afterwards they would go to one of their homes to eat until they crashed and they would wake up right before lunch time tangled against each other.
oh, he understood now. the comfort, and where it came from.
"so, you don't want us here," a meek voice said, breaking the silence that tusk didn't realize was there.
"no, nonono, it's not that," he replied urgently, shaking his head at no one in particular.
"then why were you trying to leave?" and with that, the forgotten floodgates of tusk's bladder suddenly opened once more.
"what are you doing- ow!" amu shrieked out, slapping at him as he scrambled over her body and practically dove at the floor.
"i really need to pee," he replied briskly, pushing himself up from the ground and quickly shuffling towards the bathroom.
but then he stopped, craning his neck over his shoulder to look at the two, who were starting to stretch their limbs and sit up.
"you guys can stay, i'll be back." they both paused at that, stealing a glance at tusk and then each other before exchanging a smile, and settled back into their positions, leaving the middle completely open.
"we'll be waiting," amu chirped, her eyes already closed.
the corners of his lips curled up, and he swung his head back forward, quickly running to the bathroom, ready to head back to bed.